Charity’s clothing warehouse hit by fire

Scores of firefighters were sent to tackle the fire, which broke out at an industrial estate in Huddersfield on Saturday.

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said the warehouse was “100 per cent involved” in the fire and a structural engineer had been called because the building was showing signs of collapse.

The single-storey building in Beck Road is home to Oxfam Wastesaver, which sorts thousands of tonnes of clothes and textiles donated to the charity by members of the public.

Twenty propane canisters were found at the scene by firefighters but were not involved in the fire.

It took fire crews eight hours to get the blaze under control and yesterday morning one crew, from Wakefield, remained at the scene.

A fire service spokeswoman said yesterday: “We’re still putting a lot of water on it.

“Anything that’s got large-scale packed-up clothes is going to burn.”

The cause of the fire has not yet been established.

The fire ripped through the warehouse in Huddersfield, destroying thousands of items of clothing, leaving the charity counting the cost of the blaze yesterday.

People living nearby said they heard a big explosion and loud popping noises after the fire started at about 6pm on Saturday. People in the surrounding area were urged to keep their doors and windows closed because of the thick acrid smoke.

Oxfam Wastesaver sorts through donations given to the charity and they are either set aside to be sold, exported or recycled.